BENEFITS OF WORKING WITH A BROKER

One of the key components to answering this question is: ‘Who does a broker work for?’

The very simple answer is: You!

Our mortgage brokers work to make your home buying experience as ‘Worry Free’ as possible.

We also work to secure you the best mortgage rates as well as the best mortgage products.

We can provide superior rates and products due to the fact that we work with many different lenders and we work to get them to compete for your business.

Ultimately this produces more choice for you and generates more competitive rates for your mortgage.

At Worry Free Mortgage we are an independent mortgage broker. We are not ‘selling’ any lender’s product but rather we are simply giving you as many options as possible.

Our goal is to assist you in successfully financing your home or property with the very best rates in the market.

Let us provide you with financing options so that you can find your new home.

Having lenders compete for your business means more competitive rates

We are not tied to any lender so we can provide ‘Independent’ advice for your financial needs

No cost to you

Access to market promotions that provide you even lower rates

Quick, efficient and dedicated to getting you the best mortgage rate and product

Ongoing support and consultation

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BUDGETING/SPENDING PLANS

A budget is one of the greatest tools that a family can utilize to take control of their financial world.

Our easy to use ‘Family Budget Planner’ (link to planner) can help you capture a snap shot over what is going on in your family’s financial world and then can give you control to plan out what changes you want or need to make.

Our mortgage associates would be happy to meet with you to help walk you through the best way to use this tool.

A great quote about budgets:

“The simplest definition of a budget is "telling your money where to go.”

-Tsh Oxenreider, Organized Simplicity: The Clutter-Free Approach to Intentional Living

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BRUISED CREDIT – IF YOU HAVE A LOW CREDIT SCORE (UNDER 600) YOU CAN FIX YOUR SCORE.

Whether you can fix your score quickly or you will need a lot of time depends on the factors affecting your score.

Sometimes you can ‘fix’ your score by making some relatively minor changes to how you are managing your credit profile.

Other times people may need to ‘re-build’ their credit. This can take from several months to a couple of years.

FIXING YOUR CREDIT SCORE FAST:

A low score that can be fixed quickly may be the result of utilization, collections or outdated information.

1. Utilization. Utilization is how much of your credit are you using (utilizing).

If your card has a limit of $5000 and your balance owing is $2500 then you are 50% utilized. If you owed $4000 on that card you would be 80% utilized.

Even if you make all your payments on time, a high utilization on your cards or line of credit will hurt your score.

The quick fix on this one is to simply pay down your balances. Once your utilization is under 65% your score will start to recover. The lower the utilization the better your score will be.

2. Collections. Perhaps it is a disputed cell phone bill or an old utility charge. Whatever it is, if it is showing up on your credit bureau, it is hurting your score.

By paying off any collections and then requesting the removal of the collection notation from your credit report you will significantly improve your score in a short period of time.

The most common types of collections that appear on a credit report are things like unpaid utility bills, cable bills, telephone bills, cell phone bills and parking tickets.

3. Old Information. All negative information is supposed to fall off your credit report in 6 to 7 years depending on the province you live in.

If there are any historical records on your credit bureau older than this you can ask to have them removed if the credit reporting company forgot to do it on their own.

This will help your score. Our mortgage associates can help you review your credit bureau and help you make a plan to improve your credit.

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REBUILDING YOUR CREDIT SCORE.

5 Steps to Rebuilding Your Credit Score

A low score that can be fixed quickly may be the result of utilization, collections or outdated information.

1. Identify why you have a credit problemFor many people credit problems are created by circumstances beyond their control.Injuries or illness, unemployment, reduced income, or a separation or divorce can all have significant impacts on our credit reality.

For others, managing their credit just seems difficult as there never seems to be enough money at the end of every month.

If you can’t figure out why you are having financial or credit problems, our mortgage associates can help analyze where you are at and help you plan to improve.

2. Create a spending planThe single most common issue surrounding credit difficulties is the lack of a spending plan.

A spending plan is another name for a budget. At Worry Free Mortgage we offer (free of charge) budget tools to help you create your spending plan so that you can take control of your financial life. (Family Budget Planner Link)

If you really want to fix your credit and maintain good credit going forward, contact one of our mortgage associates today and they can help you implement a spending plan in your home.

3. Deal with your debt - Pay down your balancesOnce you have a spending plan or budget in place you will be able to identify how you can start getting rid of your debt.

As was mentioned previously, as you pay down your debt, your utilization will improve, and this will help your credit score. Our mortgage associates can help you write a ‘debt snowball’ plan to help to get you out of your debt.

An added benefit is that you will actually end up having more and more money available to you as you will be paying less and less in interest, as you pay those balances down.

4. Make your payments as agreedLate payments are one of the largest factors in impaired credit scores.

Setting up an auto payment to make a minimum payment on all your credit facilities can make sure that you never miss a payment again.

Let one of our mortgage associates walk you through the ‘how to’ of setting up minimum auto payments with your lenders.

This is just as important when it comes to paying your bills on time.

It is always good to pay your bills two or three days before they are due, just in case there is a delay in your creditor receiving your payment.

Missed or late payments with cell phones show up on your bureau just as much as missed or late payments on your credit card.

5. Re-establishing credit.Often individuals need to start building new credit to replace the old bruised credit.

The first place to start is with ‘secured credit’. Most banks and credit unions will allow you to take out a cash secured Visa or MasterCard. Basically, you put a deposit onto the card and then use it as a credit card. It is like a ‘pre-paid Visa’.

The benefit is that cash secured credit cards do report to your credit bureau so they can help you establish and build up your credit.

These cards do have fees and ultimately you will want to move onto ‘no-fee’ cards once your credit has improved.

Another way of re-establishing your credit is to go to your bank and ask for a ‘cash secured loan’.

You simply give them a deposit of an amount of money and they issue you a loan for the same amount of money. You then make your regular payments to pay off the loan.

Yes, there is an interest cost in doing this, but it does help to rebuild your credit so it can be worth it.

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CREDIT SCORE

Your credit score is a summary of your historical credit behavior.

Many types of credit are reported on your credit bureau. Mortgages, credit cards, cell phones, car loans and personal lines of credit are just some of the credit facilities that you will find on your credit report.

Your credit history is most often based on the information reported to the two major credit-reporting agencies in Canada. The information that is reported to them will include:

How long you’ve had credit

Your history of making payments

Your outstanding debts

Number of recent inquiries about your credit history

Types of credit you’re using

Any records of bankruptcy or your debts being sent to a collection agency

Equifax and TransUnion are utilized by nearly every mortgage provider in the country when a mortgage application is submitted to them.

When you request a mortgage, the lenders will always check your credit history with one or both agencies.Your credit score is important when it comes to qualifying for a mortgage.

You can build good credit history by making sure that payments on your credit cards and other loans are always made on time.

Lenders do not like to see even one or two late payments within the last two years.

If you would like to know more about how your credit score and credit history affect your ability to qualify for a mortgage, please contact one of our mortgage associates and they will be happy to provide you with more information. (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

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RENTAL PROPERTIES

Rental properties and real estate investments have been keys to building wealth in Canada for hundreds of years.Thousands of Canadians have gained wealth, financial security and a comfortable retirement by participating in real estate investments.

Our mortgage associates can help the first-time real estate investor or the seasoned real estate professional secure mortgage financing for their investment properties.

Our mortgage associates can:

Obtain up to 80% financing on rental properties when you are purchasing with the intent of renting them.

Utilize the net cash flow from the investor’s entire property portfolio as qualifying income

Help you keep your existing home as a rental property when you are ready to move into a different home.

Discuss the best financing strategy to help you achieve your goals.

If you are thinking about purchasing a rental property and would like one of our mortgage associates to work with you please fill out our application form to get things started. (link – app

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VACATION HOME/SECOND HOME

If you’re looking at purchasing a second home or you’re planning on investing in a vacation property, our mortgage associates can arrange your mortgage for you.

For as little as 5% down, our mortgage associates can assist you in the purchase of your vacation dream home or a second home for your kids at college, or for your aging parents.

What is a second home and how can I purchase one for 5% down?

A second home is a property that will be used either for personal recreation purposes (like a lake cottage) or for an immediate family member to live in.

If the intended purpose of the property is to house your family you could qualify to purchase with only 5% down.Contact one of our mortgage associates today to start exploring your options for the purchase of a second home. (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

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WHY CHOOSE A MORTGAGE ASSOCIATE?

We act as your representation to all lending institutions. Working one-on-one with you, we find out your short and long-term goals to find a product and rate that works best for your needs. Unlike the lending institution, we keep your interests as our top priority. This allows us to secure you the top deal possible. Our knowledge ensures that the process goes smoothly and as easy as possible for all our clients. Most importantly, there is no fee to use our services! Mortgage associates are paid a finder’s fee by the institution.

MORTGAGES 101

We know that when it comes to choosing a mortgage, it can get a little overwhelming. When it comes to new purchases, we can lead you through how to secure a down payment, which documents you will need to supply, and go through your credit score.

A good credit score means you will receive better interest rates for your mortgage. The higher your score is means you are less likely to miss payments and more likely to pay off debt. Whether you are looking to renew your mortgage, are making a new purchase, or are looking to improve your credit, Worry Free Mortgages is your valuable source of information.